The 2016 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award will be presented at a brunch ceremony at Wentworth By The Sea in New Castle, New Hampshire, on Saturday, March 19, as part of the NCAA Women's Frozen Four weekend hosted by the University of New Hampshire. The award, which is in its 19th year, is presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey.

The selection process commenced in early February when NCAA Division I women's ice hockey coaches were asked to nominate players for the award. Players who were nominated by two or more coaches were then placed on an official ballot, which was sent back to the coaches to vote for the top-10 finalists.

The three finalists, including the recipient of the 2016 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, were then chosen by a 13-person selection committee made up of NCAA Division I women's ice hockey coaches, representatives of print and broadcast media, an at-large member and a representative of USA Hockey, the national governing body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States. The independent accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, tabulated the ballots.